Magic Wand Called Decoupage

"Never get so busy making a living that you forget to make a life."

A simple quote that I keep interpreting in a thousand ways while adhering to it each day. On most of the days putting some life in supposedly lifeless things is the surest way to "make a life" to me!

So here is a saga of another such attempt, like in my previous blog, to reincarnate the typical boring plastic planters and make them come alive.

I took three of these small sized planters, which had come with some plants from the nursery [Figure 1]. Since the plants were already repotted into bigger and better things, these were simply waiting to be discarded, till their destiny took a sudden twist!

 Figure 1

I decided to try my hands at Decoupage this time. For those of you who do not know, it is essentially sticking pieces of paper or cloth on the object and layering it with several coats of glue.

I looked around for some bright options and found this perfect piece of clothing - a bed sheet lying unused since ages! It had distinct flowers in pink and light blue, and I started off by cutting out these flowers neatly, from the sheet [Figure 2]. 

 Figure 2

The "makeover" task began by giving a base colour to the pots. I painted them white so that the original pretty colour of the flowers is not sabotaged. But then the persistent need to "add colour to life" took over and I gave a bright yellow base coat to the third planter.

The next step was to stick these cutout pieces of cloth (the flowers here), overlapping cleverly, over the planters, layering each piece with glue. I took one portion of Fevicol and mixed an equal amount of water to it and mixed it well. This is the desi version of Mod Podge which is otherwise used for decoupage, in few countries around the world. Mod Podge is now available in India too but you actually can achieve the same through our desi variant. Remember to let each layer dry out before applying the second coat of glue. A final coat of sealant, in form of lacquer or varnish, gives it the sheen that you see in the picture [Figure 3], and the protection that you will see in the years to come.

 Figure 3

Honestly, the end result had me really happy. They had already acquired so much life in them. But I had started off with the goal of seeing them "full of life" so you can guess what the next step had to be - yes growing plants in them! 

I had this beautiful collection of cactuses (cacti to the Latin lovers) which had flowers going perfectly well with the colours I had chosen for the planters. So I had no hesitation in pairing them together [ Figure 4]. You can see for yourself how beautiful they looked together [Figure 5]!

 Figure 4

  Figure 5

Aah, I was spoilt for choices, to set these beauties in! The about-to-be-discarded planters had turned into objects of Cinderella's fairy tale, in less than an hour, and the beauty of it being - they wouldn't be turning into pumpkins at the stroke of midnight! For now, they find their place under a painting of women folks from the same desert land where these cacti hail from!  And boy, aren't they at home - blooming away to glory! [Figure 6]

 

Figure 6

©Fursatnama 

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